Transcription
ONLINE PREMIEREOct 14AVAILABLE ON DEMANDUntil Oct 31A MIDSUMMERNIGHT’S DREAMBelow the surface, a sea of supernatural mischief, magic,fairy royalty, and entangled lovers
Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the choreographer’s first narrativeballet in the U.S., premiering in 1962. Stories of Balanchine quoting passages fromthe classic play in Russian are frequently recalled and it is said to have been hisfavorite Shakespearean work.MCB reimagined the famed ballet for its 30th anniversary, setting it in an oceanicdreamscape inspired by South Florida’s azure oceans and the vast sea life thatsurrounds this beautiful state, we call home. Here all the drama, absurdity, and magicunfold in an utterly unique, Florida dream.
MEET THE k. Utterly inArranged to wedHopeless romantic inHead over heels forOberon’s servantlove with Demetrius.Demetrius but in lovelove with Hermia.Hermia but Helenaand jester. A fun-clamors for hisloving, mischief-affection.making sprite.with Lysander.TITANIAOBERONBOTTOMHIPPOLYTATHESEUSQueen of the Fairies.King of the Fairies.The wayward artisanQueen of theDuke of Athens,Wife of Oberon.Husband ofwho Puck casts aAmazons. Fiercefalls in love withA force of nature,Titania. A smidgespell on, givingwarrior who leads aHippolyta.though not immunedevious. A smidgehim the head of acharge of seahorses.to the powerfultenderhearted.manatee!flower dust.
ACT IAt an estuary on a Midsummer EveThe butterflies are causing a fluttery ruckus as Puck greets Oberon, King of the Fairies.
Titania, Oberon’s wife, joins with her changeling (a human boy) and cavalier by her side.Titania and Oberon are squabbling over the changeling. Oberon wants the boy as his page,but Titania wants him all to herself.
Briefly, we meet the Athenian humans – Hermia, who is madly in love with Lysander.
.and Helena and Demetrius. Helena is madly in love with Demetrius but he cruelly shoos her away.
Oberon sends Puck into a sea kelp forest to find a magic flower that causes one to fall asleep.When woken, you’re instantly in love with the first thing you see.
Lysander and Hermia lovingly dance together while Demetrius continues to shun Helena’sadvances and boldly courts Hermia.
Puck sprinkles the magic flower dust on Lysander! Uh, oh. Now, Lysander is infatuated withHelena. Hermia walks in on Lysander, much to her chagrin.
Helena can’t believe her fate. She does not love Lysander. She loves Demetrius. But Demetrius still wantsHermia. Puck, in an effort to fix the situation, sprinkles the flower dust on Demetrius. Helena comes upon thesleeping Demetrius and when he awakes, he only has eyes for Helena. Now Hermia is heartbroken.
Meanwhile, at Oberon’s instruction, Puck turns the head of a wayward artisan named Bottominto that of a docile manatee.
Puck leads Bottom into Titania’s chamber while the devious Oberon sprinkles his wife withflower dust. When she awakes, she finds herself smitten with Bottom, who is, for the mostpart, only concerned with eating seagrass.
Next, we meet the mighty Queen of the Amazons and her warrior seahorses. Clearly, she’shad enough of the shenanigans! It’s time to set things straight.
The spells are reversed. Oberon restores order. The blundering Bottom is restored to hishuman form. Demetrius and Lysander, after having quarreled, are matched together in lovingharmony: Hermia with Lysander and Helena with Demetrius.
Theseus, knowing a good woman when he sees one, is engaged to Hippolyta and a triplewedding is planned.
ACT IIAt the Court of TheseusTime for weddings (and Mendelsohn’s famous Wedding March!) At the Duke’s palace (theCoral Castle), jubilant celebrations ensue with pageantry and dancing.
When the wedding party subsides and the mortal revelers retire, we return to the Kingdom ofFairies where Oberon and Titania are happily together again.
Puck cleans up the remnants of his (and Oberon’s) messes and all is right, once again.
CreditsCHOREOGRAPHY BY GEORGE BALANCHINE THE GEORGE BALANCHINE TRUSTMUSIC BY FELIX MENDELSSOHN*STAGED BY SANDRA JENNINGSSCENIC PROJECTIONS, PROPERTIES, AND COSTUME DESIGNS BYMICHELE OKA DONERLIGHTING DESIGN BY JOHN HALLPROJECTION DESIGNS BY WENDALL HARRINGTONDRAMATURGY BY TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY*Overture and Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, op. 21 and 61 (1826, 1842);Overtures to Athalie, op. 74 (1845), The Fair Melusine op. 32 (1833), The First Walpurgis Night, op.60; Symphony No. 9 for strings; Overture to Son and Stranger, op. 89 (1829)Photos: MCB dancers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.Photo Alexander Iziliev.Underwater Photo Shoot Alberto Oviedo.*Underwater photo costumes, courtesy of Haydée Morales, are not based on Michele Oka Doner’soriginal designs for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.ONLINE PREMIEREOct 14AVAILABLE ON DEMANDUntil Oct 31
MCB reimagined the famed ballet for its 30th anniversary, setting it in an oceanic dreamscape inspired by South Florida’s azure oceans and the vast sea life that surrounds this beautiful state, we call home. Here all the drama, absurdi
